Man City referred to Uefa financial body

Manchester City won the Premier League for the fourth time in eight seasons on Sunday

Manchester City say they are “disappointed, but regrettably not surprised” after being referred to Uefa’s club financial control body.

BBC Sport reported this week that Uefa investigators want City banned from the Champions League for a season if found guilty of breaking financial rules.

Chief investigator Yves Leterme has made his recommendation to Uefa but it is not known if he supports a ban.

City said “the accusation of financial irregularities remains entirely false”.

Former Belgian prime minister Leterme, chairman of the investigatory panel of Uefa’s independent financial control board (CFCB), had the final say over what action to take.

Leterme and his team have been looking at evidence first uncovered in a series of leaks published by German newspaper Der Spiegel last year.

The reports alleged that City broke Financial Fair Play regulations by inflating the value of a multimillion-pound sponsorship deal. City were fined £49m in 2014 for a previous breach of regulations.

It understood Leterme’s fellow board members firmly expressed the view at a recent meeting that a season-long ban would be a suitable punishment if City are found guilty.

Uefa said Leterme, “after having consulted with the other members of the independent investigatory chamber”, decided “to refer Manchester City FC to the CFCB adjudicatory chamber following the conclusion of his investigation”.

European football’s governing body said it “will not be making any further comment on the matter until a decision is announced by the CFCB adjudicatory chamber”.